The Tap: Friday, September 30, 2016

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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #36 of The Tap, which was published on October 1, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• The Chicago Tribune endorsed Gary Johnson for president. The paper endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, though it has traditionally prefered Republican candidates for president, according to Politico. It endorsed Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican primaries but did not endorse a candidate in the 2016 Democratic primaries. The Tribune wrote that Johnson and his running mate, Bill Weld, are “agile, practical and, unlike the major-party candidates, experienced at managing governments. They offer an agenda that appeals not only to the Tribune's principles but to those of the many Americans who say they are socially tolerant but fiscally responsible.” The paper was critical of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Trump is “not fit to be president,” and his rise is a “mystery” and a “shame,” the paper wrote. Clinton was described as “undeniably capable of leading the United States,” but the paper rejected what it called her “vision of ever-expanding government” and “calls for a vast expansion of federal spending, supported by the kinds of tax hikes that were comically impossible even in the years when President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats dominated both houses of Congress.”

• Judge Marilyn Huff assumed senior status on the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Judge Huff’s elevation creates an Article III judicial vacancy on the Southern District bench, the only current vacancy on that court. As an Article III judicial position, Huff’s successor must be nominated by the president and that nomination is subject to confirmation on the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. The Southern District has 13 active judicial positions.
• For more information, see Ballotpedia’s Federal Vacancy Warning System

• Hillary Clinton announced a plan to create a new National Service Reserve to connect Americans interested in volunteering with communities in need. The initiative would allow local and state leaders to call on reservists to provide emergency relief, natural disaster assistance, and support for programs tackling community issues like homelessness and drug addiction. Participation in the program could lead to college credits and special credentials.

State

• New Jersey Commissioner of Education David Hespe stepped down after having announced his resignation from the nonpartisan position on September 2. Hespe said in his statement that the "time is right" for a personal transition. Gov. Chris Christie (R) selected Assistant Commissioner Kimberley Harrington to serve as interim commissioner until Christie selects a permanent replacement. Christie's selection will be subject to confirmation by the state Senate. New Jersey currently has a divided government: Republicans hold the governorship while Democrats have majority control in both chambers of the state legislature.
• Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore (R) was suspended from the bench for the remainder of his term by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. He will be unable to run for another term due to Alabama’s age limit of 70 for judicial candidates. Under the Alabama Constitution, Moore has the right to appeal the judiciary court’s decision to the Alabama Supreme Court, and his attorney stated that Moore is filing an appeal.
  • Chief Justice Moore stood trial before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary, Alabama’s judicial discipline court, on September 28, 2016. The verdict was announced on September 30, 2016. Moore faced ethics charges brought by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission. The charges were based on Moore’s January administrative order stating that the Alabama Supreme Court’s prior orders to probate judges not to issue same-sex marriage licenses “remain in full force and effect” in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which held that the U.S. Constitution requires states both to license same-sex marriage and to recognize such marriages performed in other states.
  • Moore first served as chief justice from 2001 to 2003. During that term, he was first suspended and then removed from the bench for his refusal to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the state courthouse. He was voted back onto the state supreme court in 2012 and had served as chief justice since 2013. Justice Moore was suspended in May 2016 to await trial before the court of the judiciary. That court decided to suspend him from the bench for the remainder of his term, which ends in 2019, rather than remove him from the court a second time. The decision for suspension was unanimous among the court of the judiciary’s nine judges. A decision for Moore’s removal from the bench would have had to be unanimous by law, and the court’s decision stated outright that while a majority of the judges were in favor of removal, some were opposed. The press secretary to Alabama Governor Robert Bentley said that no interim justice will be appointed; the Alabama Supreme Court will continue through the end of Moore’s term with only eight justices.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #35 of The Tap, which was published on September 24, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• Judge Marilyn Huff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California will assume senior status. Judge Huff’s elevation creates an Article III vacancy on the court. As an Article III vacancy, Judge Huff’s successor must be nominated by the president and that nomination is subject to confirmation on the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. The court has thirteen active judicial positions. There will be one vacancy upon Judge Huff’s elevation.